


candy hearts (so sweet on you)

by thaumasilva



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: 3+1 Things, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, F/F, Fluff, Friends as Family, Getting Together, Gift Counters, Holidays, Jester's Backstory, Protective Beau, Winter's Crest (Critical Role)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-09-17
Packaged: 2020-09-23 20:13:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20346037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thaumasilva/pseuds/thaumasilva
Summary: It’s the holiday season, and Beau’s got a lot of gifts she’s too lazy to wrap. Fortunately, the gift-wrapping station at the mall has hired an adorable blue tiefling that makes the whole experience, well, more than bearable.Or: Three times Beau wanted to ask Jester out, and the one time she didn’t have to.A late fic request from my Critical Role sideblog.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hi everyone ! it's been a while. this is an extremely late fic request from my sideblog criticaldemiplane. the prompt was "Beau/Jester, Candy Hearts." writing has been hard lately but i think i'm getting back into the swing of it
> 
> i have this entire thing more or less finished, but decided to go multi-chap. tags and chapter notes will update accordingly as i post more.
> 
> please enjoy !

**I.**

Beau knows most people don’t expect her to put in the effort of gift wrapping. And yeah, they’re kinda right. She’s never understood the real purpose of putting fancy, overpriced paper around a fancy, overpriced gift when you’re just going to tear it all off. Beau’s loudly expressed this in the past, she’s sure.

But it had been Nott’s birthday two weeks ago, and she’d shown up with some whiskey half-wrapped in an old take-out bag. That had been a new low (even for her) and now she wants to make things sort-of-right. Beau didn’t think Nott had cared, but a look from Fjord really vacuum-sealed the guilt in.

She punches on the parking brake and hauls the bag of Winter’s Crest gifts out of the car. It’s a fair bit before the holiday, so the mall isn’t insufferably crowded. Still, Beau feels cornered as she ducks between people, a little on edge from the fluorescent lights and the manufactured cheer.

One of the larger department stores has exactly what she’d been hoping for. A small counter, white surface gleaming, with bolts of gift wrap affixed to the wall like a diner’s neon sign. There’s not even anyone around.

Beau had tried to wrap her own gifts, she really had. But no one had ever taught her how to fold the paper to get those ruler-sharp corners, or to use anything better than newspaper. And fuck it, she wants these gifts to look damn nice.

The problem is, there’s no one at the counter. A quick head swivel confirms there’s no employees in sight, either. Maybe it’s not open today?

Beau dumps her bag on the counter anyway. At the back wall there’s another polished workspace, with a tall glass vase balanced to the side. It’s filled with those little chalky candy hearts, making a cute decoration. Beau peers over to get a better look--

\--and nearly collides with a bright blue head suddenly popping up from the floor. As it is Beau is just in time to not have her nose broken by sheep-like horns, a round freckled face, a pretty lacy dress.

The tiefling chirps a “Sorry!” and heaves the bolt of wrapping paper to the counter. She’s clearly a head shorter than Beau, but surprisingly buff. Beau is tongue-tied. Her emotions immediately start fleeing in different directions.

“Sorry to keep you waaaaiting,” the attendant drawls, because on further inspection she does have a small employee badge. It reads  _ Jester!  _ in loopy, dotted handwriting.

Beau is a goner before she even makes eye contact.

“Are these your gifts?” apparently-Jester asks, unperturbed by her silence. Her tail flicks out behind her and she points with it to a small sign listing prices. The tail has a pastel pink bow, and the tip is shaped like a heart that’s had its sides gently smushed. Beau is so glad she put the bag down, judging by the suspicious lack of strength in her arms.

“Oh! Yeah, I’m here for the, the payment. The gift wrapping service. That’s what you do, right?” Once her words are back they all come spilling out. 

“Uh-huh!” Jester eyes the large bag sagging a little off the counter. “Are these all for Winter’s Crest?”

“Yeah, I’m trying to get a leg up on things.” Beau begins pulling the individual gifts out. Some of them are a little oddly shaped, she hopes that’s not a problem.

Jester honest-to-god  _ winks _ at her. “Well you have definitely come to the right place! We have all these paper selections, and then some pretty bows, and if you want I can even write out the ‘to and from’ part all fancy.”

Beau nods, already deciding she’s going to stay here as long as she can get away with. Plus, she’s got some money to burn, it being the holidays and all. Might as well go all out on the only people remaining that she cares about.

Beau gnaws at her lip and slides over the first present, the one that looks easiest to wrap. It’s just a box of thick paper, nicked from the Cobalt Soul archives, but she knows Caleb will like it.

Jester guides her through the process of choosing wrapping paper. At first Beau thinks her level of cheer is an act, a nice face for the retail customers. But there are little moments of candor that slowly convince her that no, she really is just this peppy. Or she’s a good liar. Jester seems candid, even when deciphering how to wrap the whittling tools that are for Yasha. In the end they decide on a little envelope, Beau apologizing for not thinking of it beforehand.

“Oh no no, it’s fine!” says Jester. “It’s a good set, I’m sure she will be very happy. So who are these all from?” The last part is spoken a little quicker, a little less polished. There’s some gleam in those purple eyes. 

“Beauregard,” Beau replies without thinking. “Or, or Beau, but I think I want to write those out… myself.”

Instead of replying, Jester just reaches into the pockets of her dress and pulls out several metallic pens. They’re pressed into Beau’s callused hands, her polished talons gently pressing against the thick skin. 

“Those aren’t part of the charge,” says Jester. “But I have them so you can use them if you want.”

Beau ducks her head and begins to address the presents, trying to hide the faint blush that’s overtaking her face. Part of her is horrified that she’s blushing, part of her just wants to get this girl’s number.

Would that be alright?  _ No,  _ Beau decides.  _ But maybe later.  _ After all, she’s still got a couple presents left to buy.

Beau awkwardly slides the pens back and mumbles a “Thank you.” If she’s coming back here, she doesn’t want to fuck up now.

Jester is artfully arranging all of her presents in one giant gift bag, and tying a sparkly bow on top. Beau is also pretty sure that’s not part of the service.

As she takes the bag, Jester suddenly perks up again. “Oh, wait wait! These are complementary.” She turns to the back counter and sticks her whole hand in the small vase of candy hearts. “You can pay now,” she calls over her shoulder.

Beau goes through the ordeal of the chip reader while Jester rifles through the little sweets, apparently particular about this small thing. 

She whirls back around with a flourish and tucks a candy heart, wrapped around a receipt, into Beau’s bag. She has to lean over the counter to do it, and her arm brushes’ Beau’s coat.

“All done!” Jester beams. Beau’s mind once again goes blank. She stands there stupidly. For too long.

Jester’s smile turns a tad forced. “This is like, the end of the transaction you know. I don’t have anything else to do unless you have more presents.”

“I will,” blurts Beau. “I mean, I’ll definitely see you again.” She catches the edge of that sentence and returns to her air of confidence with some mental effort. “I’ve got a couple more people I’ll be, uh, buying things for. So I’ll probably see you in a… week or two….”

This time Jester’s smile is different, less neon-sugar happy. It’s softer. Cotton candy, maybe. Beau manages a smile back, though she isn’t sure what it looks like.

“I will see you then, then!” Jester laughs. Beau nods and waves goodbye on her march out of the store.

-

There’s a little chain coffee shop next to the department store, out of sight of the gift counter. Beau darts in as soon as she can, pressing her back to the wall.

That was the cutest experience she’s ever had. What  _ was  _ that? Why did a random blue tiefling make her so tongue tied?

Almost of its own free will, her hand reaches in the bag and comes out with the tiny “complementary” candy heart. Amid the noise of the café, Beau stares at the blocky message printed on its surface.

_ CRAZY 4U _

The blush rises high in her face.  _ Next time. _


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter contains some references to the more unpleasant parts of jester's backstory, so tw for implied harassment/stalking

**II.**

Something about Jester’s energy is hypnotizing, and Beau wants to get to the bottom of it. Sure, she’s only met the woman once, but it isn’t like she legitimately doesn’t have more gifts to wrap. Her own heart, sullen and cynical to the core, just needs to measure up to Jester’s again. 

At least, that’s the excuse.

Beau’s managed to scrounge up some fur-safe goat’s milk soap for Caduceus, and an entire ham for Nott. Shit was expensive, too, but it’ll make up for the paper whiskey incident. It’s approaching night when she squeezes into a parking spot, and she stares frowning at the dashboard. Hopefully it’s not too late for the gift counter to be open.

She speed-walks anyway. Fortunately the brightly lit department store makes spotting Jester easy. Today she’s got on a different dress, a forest green one with drooping sleeves. They look like they’d make wrapping difficult, but damn if it isn’t pretty on her full figure.

_ Focus!  _ Beau mentally chides herself. She’s suddenly self-conscious about her own athletic pants and messy bun. This never used to happen before— she must  _ really  _ have it bad.

Jester perks up when she draws near, and Beau hold up her presents sheepishly. Approaching the counter feels atmospherically electric. “I, uh, hi again.” Smooth.

“Hi!” chirps the tiefling. “It was Beau right? You said you would be back in a week.”

Jester’s memory is endearing and suddenly conversation flows more easily to Beau’s brain. “Yeah, I picked up the rest of my presents. This, um should be it.”

Already Jester has pulled out her little tape measure and is going over the sizes of Beau’s gifts. “Do you want the nice blue paper like that time? Or we just got some fancy sparkly paper in. It’s made of this rough stuff but there are a lot of different color choices.”

Beau’s trying to keep her eyes away from the intricate lace of Jester’s dress. “Uh, green is good for both of those.”

“Sparkly?” Jester’s fangs flash.

Beau grins. “Yeah, hit me up.”

She’s rewarded with a giggle. Today’s Jester’s tail has a royal-purple bow wrapped around it, the fabric swaying as she waves it back and forth in delight. “Of course!”

They lapse into a comfortable silence. Usually Beau hates retail interactions, they prickle under her skin with how much time is being wasted. Her natural awkwardness just forces all her shopping trips to drag on and on.

Under the bright artificial lights of this department store, it’s somehow different. Or maybe it’s just how she feels leaning across the counter with Jester humming as she wraps the gifts. It’s a level of comfortable Beau associates with her friend’s apartments, and she decides not to think too much into it. 

Until a thought strikes her. This is the second time she’s met Jester, and probably the last as well. But theoretically, she could have more presents. She feels a little flushed, and hopes she’s not being creepy.

“Hey,” she says before she can stop herself. “Um, are you still going to be working here? Like until Winter’s Crest?”

Jester pauses in her ministrations. “Well, probably, but they don’t tell me you know, what days exactly I’m going to be working until the week before, and sometimes they text me to say they don’t need anyone to come in that day.”

“Oh.” Beau’s heart sinks. “Yeah, that makes sense. Corporate bullshit and all that, right?” She clears her throat. “Like at my last job I got told off for not being consistent enough, but like, how was I supposed to know that being a tour guide required scheduling? And--”

“Let me give my number,” buts in Jester. “I can text you my schedule, OK? That way you will always know when I am here and there won’t be any confuuusion.” Before Beau can reply she’s already jotted down a number on a spare label and is turning to the back wall to fish out a candy heart. She thrusts the paper and heart into Beau’s hands, beaming toothily.

Beau looks down, a half-thank you on her lips.

_ CALL ME _

Beau may be a dumbass, but she isn’t an idiot. It’s suddenly all so clear:  _ This is it!  _ Her heart pounds in her chest, and Beau steels her nerves. “Um, hey, so—“

Jester freezes. Full-body. Beau’s words die on her tongue. For a fraction of a second she thinks its her, but the ever-present awareness literally beaten into Beau takes over for a confused forebrain. 

Out of the corner of her eye she sees rapid movement of black silk. It’s a man in an expensive tailored suit and a sour expression. He’s wearing dark sunglasses. 

The dude just  _ looks  _ shifty. Beau squints at him. He’s jerkily looking around, marching up and down the jewelry section. He’s on the other side of the store, but getting closer, and suddenly her danger senses are on high alert. If Beau’s learned to trust anything, it’s her gut.

She glances back to Jester, and immediately knows her line of sight has been followed. Jester’s expression feels like a shard of glass to the sternum.

So normally cheery, Jester is as blood-drained as a tiefling can be. Her eyes, so expertly made up, are wide in fear. 

Beau wrenches her head from where the man is about to turn towards them. They make eye contact like ice. Beau says simply, “Duck.”

Jester falls under the counter like a downed pigeon. Beau turns around to lean nonchalantly, arms crossed, having a fine fucking day. After some weirdly intense scrutiny of a hairbow display, the man marches up, chin raising to acknowledge Beau.

“Do you work here?” his tone is short, obviously frustrated. Beau’s distrustfulness meter goes beserk.

“Nope.” She accentuates her point by gesturing to a nonexistent name badge. 

Something about Beau seems to piss off the authoritative leaning of this man, which come to think of it, is a running theme. “Do you know anyone who works here? About your age, maybe?”

“Nope.” Beau cocks her head to the side. “And that’s real fuckin’ creepy, man.” Before he can answer she continues: “I don’t know who you’re looking for, but as you can see, there’s no one here.” Beau holds out her arms wide, palms up like she’s holding dinner platters. “So I suggest your best course of action would be to try somewhere else.”

The man grinds his teeth. “And you would know, would you?”

Beau drapes an arm against the counter, casual. “Maybe you didn’t hear me,” she drawls, voice rough. “I said,  _ why don’t you fuck off? _ ”

She doesn’t break eye contact, matching the man glare to glare. Fortunately her furrowed brow is harsh enough that he scoffs and looks away first. Beau juts her chin out, victorious.

“Waste of time.” He stalks off in a huff. 

Beau waits until he’s a good ways out of the store before knocking twice against the granite. “Hey, Jes, I think he’s gone.”

The top half of Jester’s head peeks out, blinks, and then she shoots up. She’s still wide-eyed with fear, but it ebbs as all in her sight is a concerned Beauregard.

“You, uh, okay there?” Something is wrong. “Did you know that guy?” 

Jester drums all her fingers on the counter. Her tail shakes from side to side nervously, her posture ramrod-straight. “Yeah,” she says, at a whisper. “He’s not supposed to be here. I have a restraining order.”

What the hell? Beau’s eyebrows arch involuntarily. But mostly she just feels the defensiveness course through her with renewed vigor. Jester looks so worried. She opens her mouth, and then closes it again, forked tongue wetting her lips.

Beau tries to relax, not look so wound up. “Hey, you don’t need to like… say anything. I get that shit. It sucks.”

A corner of Jester’s mouth quirks up at that and she nods once. Beau feels encouraged. “Are you gonna have a problem later? If he comes back I can kick his ass for you.”

Jester’s tiny smile grows larger and she ducks her head down, shaking it. When she pulls her head up, Beau blinks at the large grin back on her face. 

“It’s not a problem, Beau! Honestly that was kind of super embarrassing.” The transition back to super-sweet is like whiplash. “When I get home I know all the people to call and pray to and then he won’t bother us again. And of course my mama can help me if I need it.” Her last sentence is spoken with conviction. Jester’s hands are back in motion, getting a bag for Beau’s gifts, a ribbon, pointing to the chip reader on the gleaming countertop.

Beau inserts her debit card on autopilot. Any other day the sunniness would have fooled her, but this close she can see the cracks in Jester’s facade. It’s really  _ not  _ okay, Beau knows. But she won’t call Jester out on it, not here. Like she said, she gets that shit. Maybe the Cobalt Soul’s really on to something with their devotion to the Knowing Mistress— Beau sure could use a deity to send a little fortune Jester’s way. 

She leaves the biggest tip possible, figuring Jester deserves it. Halfway through their calmer-than-normal goodbyes Jester slips another candy heart into her bag. She’s so quick Beau almost doesn’t catch it. She half doesn’t want to leave the store, but Jester’s shift is up. They end up walking out together, to the dark parking lot. The freezing air bites at her as she watches the tiefling cross to her car. Absentmindedly, she fishes the candy heart out of the bag.

_ LOVE HER _

Beau holds this one in her fist very tightly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> part 3 might take longer to get here, but it'll get here


	3. Chapter 3

**III.**

Beau’s running out of gifts to wrap.

A deep dive through her closet turns up a relic of childhood, a tall flamingo plushie with big googly eyes. In any case, she thinks Kiri might like it. True to her word, Jester had texted Beau her schedule, along with a lot of cutesy emojis that made Beau scream into her pillow.

Jester’s tail lashes back and forth when Beau comes near, but she might be reading into things. After all, it’s been a week or two— Winter’s Crest is basically upon them. She’d been nervous after their shared incident last time, but… Beau _ had  _ to know if Jester was doing alright. “Hey,” she greets. “I have one more.” 

Jester laughs at the floppy stuffed animal, placing her hands on her hips. Her happiness is just like Beau remembers, like the frozen-fear had been wiped out of memory. Beau hopes it’s really genuine this time. “You must have a lot of friends!”

Beau turns out a wry smile, embarrassed. “No, it’s for this little girl me and my friends know. Her name’s Kiri, she’s like four.”

Jester gasps. “You know Kiri?  _ I  _ know Kiri!”

Beau is thrown off-kilter. Who the hell knows Kiri aside from her friend group? “Kenku kid? Lives with the Shusters? The gnomes?”

Jester nods empathetically. “I used to teach piano to one of their kids! He was really really bad so we stopped but she was so cute when I was there!”

Beau wants to dig deeper into this shared connection, but the flamingo is sliding pathetically off the counter. “Whoa, maybe just put this one in a bag. Wouldn’t want to… annoy you with having to wrap it. Cause it’s soft, y’know.”

Jester has a shiny black bag with a candy-striped ribbon ready in a second. “Well, you know how I draw?” Jester has never mentioned this before but Beau automatically makes a noise of affirmation. “So usually I would just draw dicks over all of it if I was annoyed but… you are the exception. And I like this job.” With that Jester shoves the bag into Beau’s shocked hands. She leans forward into Beau’s space, conspiratorial. This close, her horizontal pupils are mesmerizing. Every freckle is in stark relief. Beau holds her breath.

“I am  _ very good _ at drawing dicks,” whispers Jester. Beau’s heart is going too fast to notice if she nods.

Jester reels back, drumming her fingers on the counter. Floundering for something to say, Beau goes with: “I mean, that’s, uh. No point wasting your time on a dick drawing. I mean, there’s more to life than… dicks….”

Jester nods, wise. “Oh, I agree.”

Is this a moment? Are they having a moment? Beau can’t tell.  _ Ask her!  _ her heart screams. But she can’t. She doesn’t know if it’s still too awkward after last time, and other excuses of the same caliber fill her mind. Her airway constricts and she stutters out a goodbye, beginning to back away.

“Oh!” exclaims Jester, seeming startled at the sudden retreat. “Wait wait wait Beau, I didn’t give you your heart!”

Beau obediently stops and turns around, holding out the gift bag. Jester all but dives to the back counter as she fishes out a candy heart and dunks it into the bag, not bothering to check the message.

“There,” she says, grin wide.  _ Cute dimples,  _ thinks Beau stupidly. She feels a little blue-screened. “And if you have any more presents you can definitely call to see if I’ll be here. Don’t be shy!”

Beau can do that, and nods to confirm. “Uh, I’ll see you sometime—“ Beau doesn’t know how to end the sentence, and panics. “See you sometime around.”

Jester’s smile takes up her whole face. The laughter-lines at the corners of her eyes are deep.  _ There,  _ thinks Beau.  _ That’s the one.  _ She snapshots that expression in her mind, for reference, for a good memory, for just-in-case.

-

In the parking lot, Beau carefully checks the candy heart that Jester had so hastily placed in the bag.

_ UR HOT _

Her head involuntarily falls forward and  _ thunks  _ against the steering wheel. The resulting horn blare sums up things pretty well, she thinks.

**+.**

Right before Winter’s Crest, Beau digs out the little scrap of paper with Jester’s number, stares at it  _ real _ hard, and resolves that she’s going to do it.

Of course, that’s when her life decides to go to shit.

The holiday itself she plans to spend with friends, but not before having to reinforce her no-contact with her parents. She nearly breaks her wrist punching the wall after a particularly guilt-tripping phone conversation. The resulting broken plaster doesn’t sit well with her landlord, either. On the eve of the holiday, before their late-night gift circle, she finds herself in a bathtub. Beau’s knees are pulled to her chest as she slowly de-thaws from the weather outside. Caduceus had insisted when she’d showed up to his apartment looking like half a snowman. It’s nice, even if his strange herbal bath bombs are making her slightly nauseous.

Beau breathes out slowly for the first time in a while.  _ You’re with friends, _ she reminds herself.  _ You can forget all that shit.  _ The next room over, Caleb is doing some weird-ass ritual for the solstice. Oddly enough, the steady chanting is more soothing than annoying.

_ Soothing. _ All the tiles in this bathroom are blue. Beau’s thoughts turn to the digits she’s had to put on the backburner. She blinks, confused, realizing she’s memorized it. 

Her phone is sitting on the toilet, and she leans forward, dialing before she can stop herself. The tub is so warm it’s sending up a steady wave of steam. It’s okay. She can do this.

Jester picks up on the third ring. Even though she’s still pretty much a stranger, Beau feels like she’s reconnecting with an old friend.

“Hey, this is Beau, from the store?” she says, wanting to cut any potential confusion. Jester laughs on the other end, and something warm settles in Beau’s chest.

“Beau! I’m really happy you called me. Happy Winter’s Crest!” She sounds less energetic than usual, but not like she’s sad. Just in a calmer place.

“Happy Winter’s Crest.” Beau takes a deep breath in. “Hey, are you going to be at the counter tomorrow?”

There’s a short pause. “No, I’m really sorry Beau, they don’t continue the gift wrap past the holiday and it was really only like a part-time thing for me.”

“Oh,” replies Beau. The conversation snags at her and she curls up further.

“...Did you want to see me?” asks Jester, voice soft. The knot unravels inside Beau. What does she have to be afraid of?

“Let’s meet at the coffee place outside the store entrance,” she blurts out. “I have one more gift.”

“One more gift?” asks Jester.

“Yeah,” breathes Beau. “So I’ll… see you there?”

-

Jester is wrapped up in a fluffy blue-white parka, already cradling a peppermint mocha. She perks up as Beau approaches and sits down at the booth, nervously tucking a gift bag by her feet.

“Hi Beau!” the tiefling chirps. “Or Beauregard. You said that the first time we met.”

“Beau’s fine.” Beau leans back in her seat, already trying to offset her anxiety with a casual posture. “Coat looks good. Your coat, I mean. The one you’re wearing right now.”

“You think so?” Jester beams at her. “It was a gift from my mother! It is very soft, she only likes the really fine things.”

“Yeah.” Beau can see the genuine happiness on Jester’s face, but she remembers the layers of emotion surrounding the subject. Maybe later, she could talk with Jester, help her out a bit more. It’s strange, but feels so  _ right _ to care about others like that. The past few years have really been good for her.

“Um, so, the gift.”

Beau places the small gift bag on the table and Jester cocks her head, curious.

“Did you wrap this yourself, Beau?” she asks, already digging into the layers of decorative tissue. “It’s so pretty!”

“Thanks,” Beau mumbles. Jester finally extracts a small box, rattling softly as its placed on the table. Under the shops’ lights the shiny clear plastic easily reveals dozens of small pastel candies, heart-shaped between them.

Jester stares at her gift, uncharacteristically silent. Beau grips the edge of the table and it creaks.  _ Now or never.  _ “Those are the ones you’d keep placing in my bag, which like, probably isn’t regular customer protocol? And I knew that. And I thought… I thought we could…”

Before she can continue Jester bursts out laughing, full-body heaving in mirth. A hot flush descends over Beau’s neck as her hope takes a swan dive off the nearest escalator. She opens her mouth, ready to defend herself, but again Jester beats her to it.

“No, wait! I’m so sorry Beau, I promise I’ll let you talk but like— here let me show you—“ Out of the fluffy parka Jester pulls an impeccably wrapped box, the paper sliced through in a single moment by her talons. Beau watches dumbstruck as an identical candy box is set next to her own gift. 

“I got you a gift too! I was going to wait until after I’d opened yours, but I was just caught off guard! I’m sorry Beau, this isn’t how I imagined this at  _ all.” _ Beau realizes Jester is genuinely upset, her cheeks flushed purple in distress. 

“I,” starts Beau, calming. The same strange sense of serendipity envelops her. “We got each other the same gift. That’s like, fate or something.”

Jester nods, a small embarrassed smile stuck in place. “I really am sorry. Um, if you’re okay with it, there’s a little more to my gift though.”

Beau feels like she should have also planned a phase two. “It’s okay, Jester. I hope you like it anyway…?” What was she saying before all this?

“I love it, Beau.” Jester’s eyes shine. “Can I show you how much?”

Beau nods and Jester opens her own box, clicking the little latch and plucking a yellow heart from the top of the pile. It slides to the center of her palm as she presents it to Beau, something wordless passing between them. 

_ BE MINE _

“What?” responds Beau, once again blindsided by the adorable chaos. Her signature casual posture appears to have skipped out of work early. She can’t totally account that her heart is still beating.

Jester seems  _ bashful. _ “I mean, it is totally OK if you want this to be a ‘just-friends’ thing, and you can tell me like, ‘Oh, Jester, even though I am so hot and you are so cute I just don’t like you like  _ that, _ ’ and I promise I will be fine with it… but I thought….”

“You thought?” Already a dumb grin is spreading on Beau’s face. She’s charmed by Jester’s impressions, what can she say.

“I thought maybe this could be like a date-date? See I already have coffee and everything and you could get coffee too.”

“Is that the, um, bar?” Beau’s grin is infectious, it seems, because Jester’s wearing one too. “There has to be coffee for it to be a date?”

Jester nods sagely. “Oh, yes, or tea or at least pastries. Lots of pastries.”

“I think I can do that.” Beau’s  _ shivering, _ what the fuck. Is it possible to be this happy? “Both the pastries, and the date. I’d, yeah. Let’s have this be a date!”

Jester’s beaming smile lights up the whole damn building. She leans her elbows on the table, hands cradling her face. “Does that mean I finally get to kiss you?”

Beau chokes, the heat returning. Jester continues: “If that’s too fast that’s fine and all but you’re just really pretty.”

“No, um,” says Beau. “That would be great.” She shifts herself forward to lean against the table edge and Jester goes for it before either of them can hesitate.

Jester is wearing some kind of lip gloss, the pressure against Beau’s mouth short and not deep, testing the waters. When they pull away from each other Beau takes an extra moment to open her eyes, savor just how nice this all this. “I was going to ask you, you know,” she murmurs. “That was the point of the gift.”

Jester holds onto Beau’s hands, giggling open-mouthed with pretty little fangs. “I know, but I had a  _ super _ good plan.” A moment passes where they just breathe against each other. “I really want to get to know you, Beau.”

“I do too.” Beau’s had a couple flings in the past, but somehow this tiefling is making her feel different. More grounded. Like a partner.

“Wait, wait!” she says. “Hang on. I’ve got the perfect thing for this.”

Jester moves back, watching bright-eyed as Beau digs through her container of candy hearts. She makes a little noise of triumph, emerging with a single heart and pushing her prize towards Jester.

_ KISS ME AGAIN _

When Jester gleefully fulfills her request Beau can taste the sweetness on her tongue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and that's the most fluff i've ever written in my life. hope you enjoyed !!


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